A Woman of No Importance

As part of this year's Chelsea History Festival, bestselling author Sonia Purnell tells the story of 'the most dangerous of all Allied spies'.

'She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her.' This command was issued by furious Nazi chiefs in 1942, desperate to track down the mysterious ‘limping lady’ who had eluded them to fight for the freedom of France.

The Gestapo's target was Virginia Hall, a glamorous American with a wooden leg. She would be the first woman to infiltrate Vichy France for the Special Operations Executive (SOE), helping to win the intelligence war.

Listen as Purnell, the bestselling author whose work the Independent describes as 'brilliant', shares Hall's dramatic story, as recounted in her new book, 'A Woman of No Importance'.

This event is followed by a book signing with the author.